Methods of obtaining information over the Internet are known. For instance, many retailers maintain websites providing information on products and services offered by the retailer.
To provide a path to the website, a retailer may identify a series of descriptive terms or keywords that may be associated with a particular product. The descriptive terms and keywords may then be entered into a searchable database of an Internet search engine (e.g., Yahoo, Webcrawler, etc.). Stored in the database along with the descriptive word or keyword is an Internet protocol (IP) address of the retailer.
A user may access the website of the retailer directly (if he knows the IP address of the retailer) or indirectly through the search engine. Once the user has accessed the website, he may first be required to enter a descriptive term or keyword of the desired product.
In response, the search engine may return an identifier of the retailer and an embedded hyperlink to the retailer. The user may then select the retailer and, in turn, be routed to the retailer's website.
Once at the retailer's website, the user may arrive at a home page and be allowed to browse through subsequent pages of the website, going from one page to another. Access to subsequent pages may be provided through a menu downloaded to the user or through a local search engine resident within the website.
While at the website of the retailer, the user may decide to purchase certain merchandise presented through the website. To accomplish a purchase, the user may be requested to enter a credit card number or other indication of financial responsibility. Upon checking the authenticity of any entered credit card number, the retailer may complete the transaction by forwarding the merchandise.
While the use of websites for merchandising has proved successful, the information exchange capacity of Internet websites far exceeds current usage. Accordingly a need exists for a way of expanding website usage to other business purposes, such as property management.